Group Time: Meet the Authors Through an Author Study

An in-depth study of a favorite author is a good way to involve young children in exploring themes, characters, rhythm, and story patterns and structure.

Grades

PreK–K,
1–2

From

An author study is a great way to get to know the writers and illustrators you and your children love.

There are some people who play an important role in your classroom without ever being there -- the authors and illustrators whose words and images capture your children's imagination. Through their books, these authors become part of your classroom group -- like good friends, children come to recognize and look forward to seeing them.

When we talk about authors, ponder their craft, learn about their lives, and devour their work, we invite children to take an insider's look at the art and craft of writing and illustrating. Children come to see books as the work of individuals and to connect the process authors go through to the steps they themselves follow to create their own books.

An in-depth study of a particular author is a wonderful way to involve children in exploring themes, characters, rhythm, and story patterns and structure. Children develop an understanding of the elements of stories and illustrations and learn to compare and contrast books by the same author.

Finding a Focus

Perhaps it's the illustrations that first catch a child's eye. Children often recognize books created by the same author-illustrator, picking up on the similarities in the style, technique, and materials.

A good author-illustrator to study is Denise Fleming, both for her unusual illustration technique - using brightly colored paper pulp and for her repetitive writing style. Invite children to discuss and compare the books chances are they'll notice a lot. One kindergarten group discovered that Denise Fleming usually writes about animals. They also grasped the rhythmic similarities between the text and title of In the Small, Small Pond and In the Tall, Tall Grass. Not surprisingly, this discussion inspired children to write their own book. Using a blender to make handmade paper out of scrap pieces of cardboard, children illustrated their book in Denise Fleming's style and titled it - what else? - In the Big, Big Kindergarten.

Once you've studied an author's work, it can be informative to compare it with that of another author. A good author to compare with Denise Fleming is Leo Lionni. He also uses paper in an interesting way - creating collages out of torn paper - and writes mostly about animals. Children may notice the differences in the authors' writing style: While Fleming uses short rhymes and phrases, Lionni tells detailed stories. After a study of Lionni's work, providing a supply of wrapping paper and wallpaper scraps can be enough to inspire the budding authors and illustrators in your class.

Books that portray the adventures of a particular character are often favorites with children. Lyle the Crocodile, Little Bear, Clifford, and Arthur are familiar friends for many. Children are happy to see these characters and eager to discover what new situation they'll encounter. These books lend themselves to character analysis and making predictions how will Arthur respond to this problem? - and often lead children to create their own version of the character's latest escapade.

A good choice for a character study is the wonderful series written and illustrated by Giles Tobo. The books are all about Simon, a little boy with great ideas and sometimes impossible dreams. Children revel in Simon's creative attempts at problem-solving and relate to his experiences. The stories are fun for children to reenact and can lead to writing new adventures for Simon.

And, of course, your favorite author is always a great one to study. Children will pick up on your enthusiasm as you explain why the books are special to you. After all, an important part of what makes authors worth studying is how we respond to them.

Steps in an Author Study

1. Select an author whose books children enjoy, and collect a large sample of his or her work. Then invite children to help you compile information about the author from the books. If the author has a particular illustration style, you can also get reference books on that technique. Information about authors is also easily found on the Internet.

2. Read the books with children over the course of a few weeks. Share the information about the author, including his or her personal history. Talk about each individual book and encourage children to share their responses and think about the characters, illustrations, and writing style. Write children's comments on chart paper, and revisit them as you read more books. After reading each book, remind children of the others they've explored and talk together about the similarities and differences among them.

3. Based on the author's work and the children's responses, select a focus for the study -- illustrations, characters, themes, text patterns, or a combination of these topics. Then review the books, highlighting that aspect and sharing related information you've collected.

4. Invite children to create their own work based on the author's. They might use the same illustration technique, create a story about a character or theme from one of the stories, or write a story that uses the same text patterns. Keep the author's books on display for inspiration.